Lucky Fate
by Radpipe
Summary: Luck or fate? Would you rather believe it was destined from the very beginning for tragedy to strike or that you had control of it the whole time, but just didn't realize? Was it luck that brought you to your soulmate or was it fate? Is it luck because it's good and fate because it's bad or is it the other way around? (Modern AU)
1. Lady Luck

Ruby couldn't believe what she was about to do. It was one thing to confess, it was a totally different thing to confess to the 'Ice Queen' of all people. Though Ruby never once called her by the moniker, nor saw her as such.

Weiss. The name alone sent shivers down Ruby's spine as she readied herself in her bedroom, attempting to decide which outfit to wear. _Just be yourself Ruby, that's how you became friends in the first place,_ Yang's words echoed through her.

After a year and a few months of dancing around each other, Ruby finally decided she had enough and was going to take the first step. Inviting Weiss Schnee out for dinner. Of course, Ruby being who she was, picked out an ice cream parlor, not realizing that frozen desserts don't count as 'dinner'. Still, Weiss had accepted, and Ruby found that her acceptance alone spoke volumes of just how far their relationship had come.

Ruby looked up at the full body mirror, circling around. Deciding there was no point in consulting the matter anymore, she walked out of her bedroom and into the kitchen. She still had an hour before the designated time to meet. Uncertain of how to spend the rest of the time, she simply looked around the kitchen.

Her eyes settled on a picture sitting on the coffee table in the adjacent living room. It was what Ruby considered to be her most prized possession. The picture itself was simple, nothing extravagant about it, but to Ruby, it was the person beside her in the picture that was the most extravagant thing in the world.

It had been taken in the first week Ruby and Weiss had met, back when they were first years at Beacon University. Ruby had been standing outside the main campus building, staring at the size of it while slowly backing up, unaware of the cart filled with briefcases behind her. After tripping into it, she sat there for a moment while she rubbed her head. A second later a shrill voice had pierced her ears. It was the worst and best impression she ever had of the youngest Schnee.

The two had gotten off to such a rough start that many wondered how in the world the two even became friends. It had taken a short discussion with a professor that Weiss realized how she was actually jealous of the fun-loving girl, more-so when she began to think of how she had acted like her father. A late night of the two reconciling later, and the two hitched off perfectly, though to outsiders they only saw the two bickering at each other.

Ruby Rose, a 16 year old genius, had come to Beacon University to complete her _second_ degree, her first being in electrical engineering. She had just started her mechanical engineering degree when she met Weiss.

Weiss Schnee, an 18 year old prodigy, had come to Beacon University at her parents bidding, unfortunately. She was expected to take over her father's company as soon as she finished her education, much to Weiss' displeasure.

The two became roommates, and would continue to be even in their second year. They fit rather well in the same room, Ruby never paying too much attention to the way she looked, and so would take small amounts of time preparing for the day, while Weiss would take large amounts, needing to keep up her persona of being an heiress to one of the world's largest companies.

Of course, things could never go perfect, and the duo found themselves (or at least one side did) in an argument. Over what? School work. Weiss found that as Ruby's friend she could not let the genius continue her "lazy bumpkin" ways. In an effort to help out the taller girl, Weiss prepared study sessions, mock tests, research material, but it was all lost on Ruby, who only wanted to sleep or do something she considered fun.

If anyone were to ask Weiss after the argument if she regretted it, she would've said 100%. Not because of the argument itself, rather the what she said to Ruby, though she would never recall the words herself. It had caused the poor girl to run out of the dorm, tears streaking her face as she ran away from Weiss.

A few days later and Weiss had her first 'meeting' with Yang. Weiss had never been so terrified in her life. A knock so extremely loud Weiss thought the door had broken down had reverberated throughout the dorm. She figured at first it was Ruby, but Ruby had her own key, so whoever was knocking didn't have one.

Opening the door hesitantly, Weiss looked up at the _very_ tall blonde girl, seemingly glowing red eyes glaring straight back into hers. A few seconds later and Weiss was being held up against the wall in their kitchen. Yang angrily asking what she did to Ruby. Yang eventually let Weiss down, realizing the girl was trying to speak, but was only spluttering hysterically in panic. As they both calmed down, Yang introduced herself as Ruby's older sister, and asked again what Weiss had done to Ruby.

An explanation had Yang doubled down in laughter, Weiss standing there embarrassed to no end. "Who in the world even argues about doing homework and stuff like that? Unless you're some sorta super nerd… are you!?"

Weiss' eyes widened, flabbergasted as she simply sat there, unable to form a response.

Yang giggled. "Just kidding!"

Weiss sighed, putting her head in her hands as they both sat down on the couch in the living room. "It's all my fault, isn't it?"

"Not entirely." Weiss looked back up at Yang, one eyebrow raised. "I mean, it is for sure your fault, but it's also kinda Ruby's. For starters, did you even try finding a way to study that Ruby would like? She's not exactly the 'sit still for hours on end type of person'." Weiss shook her head, embarrassment returning. "Well geez, there's the whole problem right there."

"And how exactly is this also Ruby's fault? I was the one that pressured her in the first place."

"That is true, but she probably only thought of it as doing more unnecessary work and didn't see that a friend was just trying to help her."

"Is-" Weiss stopped, clearing out the nervousness from her throat, "Is there a way I can contact her? I-I still do wish to be her friend."

Yang smiled genuinely, the thought of Ruby making such a true friend bringing untold amounts of happiness to her. _And she said she couldn't make friends_ , Yang thought.

She grimaced a second later, returning back to Weiss' question. "Damn, I always told her to get a phone, and of all the times to need it." Yang sat there, pondering a solution. Suddenly she popped up in her chair, startling Weiss. "Aha, you can just come over to our house!"

Weiss sat there, knuckles slowly turning white as they gripped her dress. "What!?"

"This weekend, me and Ruby are going back home for the Easter weekend, if you come over as well there's no way she can avoid you."

"I… but… what?"

"It's perfect! Here," Yang quickly grabbed a napkin and a pen from the coffee table, writing down the address, "If I don't answer the door, just say you're Ruby's friend, works a lot better than saying you're mine, trust me."

Yang handed Weiss the napkin, who was still confused over how fast everything was happening. Blonde hair flew towards the door, Yang roughly swinging it open before turning her head over her shoulder. "Be there or be square!"

The door shut. Silence.

Over the next few days Weiss began preparing, refusing to let her inner demons cause her to turn away from possibly her only chance to apologize. It wasn't until she was standing in front of the sisters' house, waiting for the door to open when she wished she hadn't gone, especially when the door itself opened. Stormy silver eyes stared back into into ice blue eyes. Both were shocked, neither expecting to so suddenly see the other.

Weiss saw this as her chance, whipping out the item held in her hands behind her back. One word bursted out of Weiss before she could think. "Gift!"

Ruby looked nervously at Weiss, then down to her hands holding the 'gift'. Taking it slowly, she peeked inside the plastic container, revealing bright red strawberries. Weiss had never found Ruby's squeal of delight so cute before. Silver eyes looked back up into blue.

"I'm so sorry Ruby, I said those awful things to you and I-" Weiss hesitated, but looking back at Ruby's face gave her the confidence, "I just wanted to make sure you would succeed, I never meant any harm."

Tears started coming down from Ruby's face, and Weiss immediately assumed the worst, until the heiress was enveloped in a hug. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, let's never argue again!" Ruby cried, burying her head in Weiss' neck.

Weiss smiled, resisting the urge to detach from Ruby, and instead returned the hug. They both walked inside, greeting Yang, who was watching the whole ordeal. Ruby gave Weiss another quick hug from the side, excitedly shouting out their renewed friendship, Weiss blushing away as she grumbled over Ruby's childishness.

That weekend has been one Weiss would always remember, filled with games and fun with the sisters' family, more-so when Weiss met their dad, finding out he was basically an older Yang, and not another one of those 'business partners' her father would bring over.

Everything returned back to normal for the two as they went back to Beacon University to resume their studies.

As time went on Yang slowly joined the duo in their activities, forming their own little group, which would soon be invaded by a fourth.

Blake Belladonna. Yang found her one day out in the moonlit rain, the black haired girl shivering wildly. For a moment, Yang almost dismissed the girl, thinking her as just another strange person one randomly encounters, until an image of Ruby shivering there appeared in her mind. Big sister instincts came forth, and she soon had Blake warming up with a big blanket on her couch, hot chocolate sitting in both of Blake's hands.

Blake told of how she had been kicked out of a shared apartment with her ex-boyfriend, Adam. Many crying sessions ensued with Blake, stories of a warm man becoming a cold hearted demon. Blake had tried her best to save Adam, but the two slowly drifted apart, until he decided he had enough, shouting at Blake to leave.

As Blake became more comfortable with Yang and her antics, she was introduced to Ruby and Weiss. The latter sparked many an argument with Blake, the two for a long time failing to see eye to eye, until Weiss let out her own damaged past. The two connected with each other's pain, deciding it was time they start acting like adults, letting go of the arguments.

As Ruby and Weiss' first year ended, Ruby came to a startling revelation. She liked Weiss. When she tried to recall exactly when this had happened, she found there was no exact time, it just sort of developed over their year spent with each other.

For the first month of their second year, Ruby was immeasurably afraid of Weiss finding out, almost completely cutting off contact with the other until Weiss eventually confronted Ruby, tearfully asking if the two were still friends. Unable to explain her reasoning, Ruby only said it was for the better, not wanting a repeat of 'The Incident' from elementary school.

A flashback of Weiss' first argument with Ruby caused the older girl to immediately stop shouting, instead walking up to Ruby and simply hugging her. "Ruby, you're my friend, if you think for one second that whatever's bothering you will make me hate you, then you're telling me that whole year of us being friends means nothing. Was it?"

Ruby looked up into Weiss' eyes, frantically shaking her head.

Weiss smirked, letting go of Ruby. "Good, and don't feel pressured to discuss your problem, we are friends after all, you can tell me whenever you're ready. In the meantime, I've some study-"

Ruby didn't hear Weiss' next words, no longer able to contain her secret. "I'malesbian!"

"-ying to do so I… wait what?!"

Nervously, Ruby looked back at the ground, clasping her hands together, she slowly repeated the words as if being released from a curse. "I'm a lesbian."

"Oh." A few seconds passed as Ruby kept looking at the ground. Her eyes turned up at motion from Weiss, who waved her hand dismissively in the air. "Nevertheless, I've some studying to do for the next few hours, if there's anything else you need to tell me you'd best do so now."

Ruby couldn't help but gape at Weiss, astonished at the reaction she received. Weiss' eyebrow arched up, a small smirk gracing her features as she watched Ruby struggle for words.

"Seeing as you've nothing else to say, I'm going to study. Ah, don't forget we're leaving tomorrow in the evening to meet up with Yang and Blake, I'll drive us seeing as I'm still your friend."

Ruby nodded robotically, still attempting to comprehend the whole situation. She settled with laying back down on her bed, falling asleep from the exhaustion of the whole event, not seeing Weiss' smirk directed towards her.

As the second month approached, Ruby mustered up the courage to say to herself, "Screw being afraid, I'm a 17 year old genius! This is nothing!" She quickly looked around in fright at the new shared apartment Ruby and Weiss had gotten, making sure the other wasn't still home.

Continuously throughout the second month, Ruby dropped subtle hints to Weiss. The responses varied from seeming interest to completely ignored, leaving Ruby more bewildered than ever. Sometimes it left her wondering if Weiss had ignored Ruby when she blurted out her secret, other times she wondered if Weiss was just teasing her.

The third month came and Ruby gave up on her tactic, instead opting to go with Yang's advice. _Just tell her Ruby, the worst that's gonna happen is she'll say no._ And so Ruby found herself on a particular night, readying herself for a 'dinner' with Weiss, confession looming ever so heavily on her mind.

Ruby focused back on the picture, diffusing the fog of memories. They were standing side by side in front of Ruby's home back on the island of Patch, smushing her cheek into the other's. A heavy blush was apparent on both their faces, but Ruby hadn't noticed at the time, simply wanting to take a picture with her friend. The beauty itself however, did not come from the location of the picture, nor the friendship being displayed. Instead, it was the small genuine smile adorning Weiss' face, gazing happily into the camera. The rarity of such a smile was in itself on an entirely different level, and Ruby found it endearing that she seemed to be the only one to be able to see those smiles.

Sighing, her fingers brushed against the picture before setting it down. Getting up, Ruby looked at the time, noting she only had thirty minutes left. Gathering her belongings, she opened the door to their shared apartment, locking it behind her. An elevator to her left dinged, and she quickly stepped in, squeezing around the cleaning lady.

Pressing the button for the ground floor, she frowned when the elevator music turned on. Hastily she put in her earbuds, not wanting to endure the agony of elevator music any longer. Ruby exited the elevator, nodding to the clerk as she hummed quietly to herself.

Ruby looked up at the full moon as she stepped outside, enjoying the small breeze ruffling her red-tipped hair. She set off with a brisk pace, not wanting to be late, especially on that night.

The ice cream parlor itself wasn't too far away from their apartment, being only a fifteen minute walk. But Ruby wasn't your average person, having once won the national 100m run. The fifteen minute walk would most likely take around five minutes, leaving the girl plenty of time to gather her wits before Weiss arrived or so she thought. Weiss had a tendency to arrive 30 minutes before whatever time she was told to arrive.

Shadows danced about Ruby as she walked, the rare car passing by. She looked around at the branches swaying slightly, trees standing tall and proud around her. Ruby began mock marching, watching each time as her feet hit the sidewalk, producing a crunching feeling, pebbles scattering about.

She felt a small vibration in her pocket and pulled out her phone.

-good luck ruby! me and blakey are cheering for you :D-

Ruby smiled at the text, the support from her sister and one of her best friends forever bringing her back from the depths of despair, back when she was still struggling with her sexuality. She still remembered the faces of disgust and contempt back when she revealed herself in elementary school. It had been the most traumatic experience for the small girl at the time, causing her to fully switch schools, shutting herself in her room. Yang had toiled endlessly, never once giving up on her younger sister as she tried everyday to bring Ruby back out of her room.

A few months of seemingly endless suffering and Ruby finally crawled out of her room, much to Yang's surprise. Yang at first had been happy, but it soon turned to horror when she looked into the blank eyes of her sister. Ruby's once vibrant personality seemed to be gone, replaced with a cold cynicism.

Ruby entered high school, refusing to speak to anyone but her own family, and even that was to a little degree. A chance encounter with a teenage boy almost vomiting on the bus sparked Ruby's return to her normal self. The two had to sit beside each other, and as the bus began moving, the boy proudly introduced himself as 'Jaune Arc', saying, "The ladies love it." The corny introduction caused Ruby to giggle, nervously shaking Jaune's hand and saying her own name.

The two's budding friendship bloomed as they progressed through high school, and Yang was more ecstatic than ever, delighted to see the shine in Ruby's eyes once more. Jaune, and much to Ruby's protest, introduced her to his three other friends, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora. Ruby's hesitance died down as she talked with the others, laughing away at Nora's antics, listening to Pyrrha's frustrations over Jaune's obliviousness to her advances, and Ren offering to always listen to Ruby if she ever needed to vent.

By their fourth year, Ruby was almost back to herself, only a few persisting nightmares bugging the poor girl.

"Ruby, are you a lesbian?"

Ruby spun around, eyes widening in fear as Pyrrha stood there. They were taking a break from their jog, the two jogging together ever since they crossed paths in the park. "W-why do you ask?"

Pyrrha smiled at Ruby, and softly placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, we've been friends for four years, it's kinda easy to see the way you look at other girls, sometimes including me." Pyrrha giggled as Ruby grimaced. "I'm only curious, you don't have to answer if you don't want to Ruby, I'm your friend either way."

Ruby gazed back into Pyrrha's eyes, slowly nodding. She let out a small yelp when she was pulled into a hug.

"You don't need to worry Ruby, we're not kids after all, there's no way I'd hate you just because you're gay. I'm sure the others would say the same thing as well." Pyrrha rubbed Ruby's head gently as she felt wetness on her shoulder, letting the other quietly sob away.

The next day Ruby looked around the cafeteria, electing to sit down at an empty table. She jumped when someone shouted her name, and looked over to see Nora waving at Ruby to come over. Ruby stopped, unsure if she should join them, but saw Pyrrha smiling just like the day before. She walked over slowly, sitting down as the group welcomed her.

Ruby took a deep breath, looking around the table at her friends, each of them waiting for her to speak. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, still trying to decide how best to tell them. "S-so, I have something to tell you guys."

A collective nod went around the table. Ruby looked down at the table, rubbing her hands together nervously. Across from the table, Pyrrha stuck her foot out, gently tapping Ruby's knee, who looked up and gave a fearful smile.

"I'm… uh.. I'm a l-l…" Ruby paused, closing her eyes tightly as she willed with all her being for the words to come out. "I'm a lesbian."

Ruby waited, hearing the shuffling of chairs and feet closer towards her. She braced herself, waiting for some sort of verbal or physical abuse, but none came. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes to see the four standing around her. Right before she could speak, they enveloped Ruby in a group hug, the younger girl unbelieving of what was happening.

"It took you long enough to tell us." Jaune said from her left.

"Woo! Group hug!" Nora's shout could be heard from all in the cafeteria, but none of them cared at the moment as she squished herself into Ruby's backside.

"I'm glad you trust us Ruby." Ren's quiet voice came from her right.

Ruby looked up, seeing Pyrrha looking back down. "See? Friends are friends Ruby, we always will be."

She nodded, and for once did not cry, but instead smiled joyously, hugging each of them back.

Ruby turned the corner, abandoning her fake marching a minute ago as she neared the ice cream parlor. She could see the glowing sign in the distance, trying her best to see if Weiss was inside, but she was still too far away.

The same nervousness she felt from when she had told her high school friends of her sexuality came back, but this time there was no clenching fear, no mind reeling light headedness, only a small glow of happiness.

Ruby didn't know how Weiss would react, but she knew that in any case, Yang and her other friends would always be there for her, even if Weiss were to abandon her.

She stopped across the street, close enough now to see the white bob of hair inside the parlor. There had been so many doors Ruby had missed, so many different paths and futures she could have gone along, but her fear of letting her secret out had prevented her from opening those doors. For once in her life, she found the door in front of her to be the one she wanted. Ruby knew that inside that door was not a perfect life, not one that would be always happy, but it was the one that could lead her to the one she could love.

Ruby sighed, letting the sudden gust of wind flip her hair about. As it died down, she looked once more at the bob of white hair, sitting patiently inside the parlor. _It's now or never Ruby_.

She took her first step towards the parlor.

And the entire world closed itself up.


	2. Devil's Luck

Weiss lay her chin on her hand, staring disinterestedly into the empty seat across from her. Her mind kept flitting back to the bright girl that had invited her out to this place. How she could even deem this as a good place for a dinner, Weiss didn't know. But she was her friend, and Weiss would never go back on her friends.

She briefly brought up her other hand, lightly resting it on her stomach. The unbidden feelings of nervousness and warmth came back at thoughts of Ruby, leaving Weiss happily confused. To Weiss, Ruby was the embodiment of everything she shouldn't be, aside from Ruby's intellect, and yet the two bonded together stronger than any relationship Weiss had ever experienced. She couldn't figure out if it was because of Ruby's hidden genius or if it was because Weiss wanted to be closer to what Ruby was, or perhaps they were simply destined to have come together.

The way Ruby took everything so lightly had infuriated the heiress at first, Weiss eventually realizing it was due to her not being able to understand Ruby. As time went on and they became friends, Weiss found that her anger towards that attitude soon turned to jealousy, wishing she was able to relax the day away, instead of constantly looking over her shoulder for a message from her father.

Weiss glanced once more at the watch on her wrist, seeing it was approaching the time for Ruby to arrive. Her foot tapped the floor, rethinking her ideal of coming so early to places. Weiss' face warmed as she remembered when Ruby had asked her to come in the first place, who was nervously looking down at the floor, twiddling her fingers. The amount of cuteness had been overbearing for Weiss, being forced to spin around while blurting out yes, before giving a lame excuse of having to study.

Weiss looked around, the dim lighting producing a sort of calm atmosphere. A lone old man sat in the corner, sipping a cup of tea while he read the newspaper. The rest of the seats were empty, black and white checkered tiles clean from a slow day of business. Weiss relaxed back in her seat, opposite the corner of the man. Her ears perked, hearing the snoring of a clearly tired employee at the counter, cashier trying his best to move her to a table, lest a damaged back occur.

She had no idea why Ruby decided of all nights to invite her out for a dinner. A Monday? Let alone it being at 9:00 PM. For the life of Weiss, she figured she would never understand Ruby, but a small part of her was happy, since that meant there was still more to discover about the younger girl. It was likely it would be that way for the rest of their lives, neither fully understanding the other, only serving to give them motivation to continue trying.

Weiss took another look at her watch, seeing it was ten minutes away from nine o' clock. Ruby would be here soon, and Weiss had yet to collect her thoughts properly about her. The confusion itself was an enigma, leaving her exhausted throughout the day as she attempted to decipher the puzzle known as 'Ruby Rose', or rather the effects she had on Weiss. The month before had been the absolute worst for her, the constant attention Ruby had given Weiss throughout had caused her multiple times to have to shut her mind down in hopes that it would relieve her of the want to do something she wasn't sure she could take back.

It was problematic for the heiress, whether or not Weiss was attracted to Ruby or attracted to the attention she was receiving was the question most in her mind. She had a tendency to ignore the thought process of if she liked Ruby, instead putting more focus on if it was infatuation or actual feelings.

Weiss knew she was attention starved as a child, the irony being most extravagant as everyone else's attention was seemingly focused on her, but that 'everyone' did not include her own family, aside from her older sister, Winter. Her father continually waved Weiss off to the maids for studying or practices an heiress must learn, not once letting her take time to do something she herself truly wanted. The only one that had let that happen had been her mother, back when Weiss had asked if she could take singing lessons.

Weiss' mother personally taught her, giving her as much love as she could, and Weiss was never the happier. That is, until a stroke of cancer struck, leaving the family without a mother, and without a caring father. Ever since, the only pillar of support for Weiss had been Winter, but even that had been limited, especially when Winter had randomly disappeared for years, only to return back as an established member of the Atlesian military. The role of heiress shifted from Winter to Weiss, and what Weiss would describe as the 'White Hell' ensued, losing any and all free time she had.

A brief appearance of hope appeared, in the form of a brochure from Beacon University. Weiss had secretly sent out an application without her father's approval, and before anyone realized, she was already shipping off. One look at her phone spoke of just how much her family took the sudden excursion. Not a single call from her father. However, as Ruby would describe it, a "million billion" calls from Winter were there, ranging from a haze of frenzy to Weiss' well-being, to exhausted sadness. Weiss did reply after a time, earning a surprise visit from Winter. The two spent the entire weekend together, never separating once.

A tearful goodbye later, and Weiss was once again back to her daily life. Ruby of course, had been ecstatic over seeing two sisters bond, but a mere mumble of how Yang was a better older sister sparked a clash between the two, leading to Yang receiving a strange call about a duel to the death between two older sisters, whoever won would be named the 'Greatest Older Sister of All Time'.

Blake had taken the phone from Yang, and a few short sentences later, everything was back to normal. Whatever had been said Yang would never find out, but it had left Ruby and Weiss huddled together for days, both refusing to look at Blake. Blake had only smirked, glad that her experiences with Adam had given her some rough edges.

Weiss' head shot up, the jingling of the doorbells alerting her. Disappointment rocked across her, seeing another old man join the one in the corner, taking out his own newspaper. She sighed as she lay her chin once more in her palm, effort being put in to keep awake. A stray piece of hair floated in front of her face, irritation flaring when she failed to blow it back to the side.

Something caught the edge of her vision, making her look to her right, through the window and outside. Weiss could've sworn she had seen a flash of red, but upon further inspection, only saw an empty street. She looked back at her watch, worry etching into her. It was five past nine. Ruby was never late, nor was she ever on time. Her natural speed caused her to always be early, no matter the form of transportation, however odd it seemed. To be late alone was something that had caused worry before, justifiably so when they found Ruby in impossible situations, from somehow becoming the CEO of a company selling strawberries, to teaching an engineering class in a closeby university.

But this time, it felt off. The flash of red returned to her mind, making her wonder if it was one of those supernatural signals of danger, the red most likely signifying Ruby. Weiss looked around the parlor, making sure to carefully study the people inside. The cashier was now sleeping beside the girl on the table, and both old men had shuffled out during Weiss' return to the past. She looked once more at her watch. 9:10 PM. Weiss whipped out her cellphone, immediately scrolling to Ruby, a text shooting off in an instant, asking Ruby about her whereabouts.

Another five minutes passed. No response. Weiss, beginning to panic a bit, decided to call Ruby after a couple more responseless texts. The cellphone rang. And rang. And rang. No response. Fear bloomed inside Weiss. She began sending out texts to everyone that knew Ruby. One by one they came back, each giving out a negative.

A fleeting memory of the past came to Weiss. It had been during Christmas, the Schnee family was throwing a Christmas ball in honour of a successful business deal. Weiss was given an extra invitation by her father, telling her to bring someone of respect. Of course, Weiss was never one to indulge her father, and so brought the least respectful person (not that Weiss meant that as an insult) to the ball. Ruby Rose.

Many days of seemingly convincing conversations were brought forth between Ruby and Weiss, most of the time ending with the frustration of a certain white haired heiress, finding it almost impossible to persuade the astoundingly shy girl.

It had been Yang who saved the day for Weiss, most importantly due to it being the last day she had to convince Ruby. "Why not just ask her as a friend and not some business deal?"

Weiss had stood there for several moments, mind attempting to grasp the simple concept that should have been so obvious from the beginning. Her eyebrows furrowed, and a tight-lipped thank you came out while she hastily opened the door to their apartment to find Ruby.

Several minutes of hot chocolate and careful pondering over Weiss' request and Ruby finally accepted, not wanting to deny her friend in need.

What Ruby completely forgot is that she would have to wear a dress and heels. Weiss refused to let the complaining get to her, instead ushering Ruby as best she could into the ballroom. It only took ten seconds after entering for Weiss to look to her side and realize Ruby had disappeared. The entire party vanished to Weiss, hurrying around the estate in search of her friend.

An archway leading out into the family garden turned out to be the chosen spot. Ruby was huddled among the roses, one white rose in particular standing out in the middle of them.

"I-I'm sorry Weiss, all those people, the bright lights, the smell, the way their eyes focused on us when we entered… i-it was just too much." Ruby's head was bowed down, refusing to look Weiss in the eye, until a gentle hand reached out and lifted her chin.

"It's okay Ruby, I'm the one who requested you to come. You don't have to force yourself to do something if you don't want to." Weiss smiled up at Ruby, slightly sticking her arms out to her side.

Ruby immediately melted into the hug, Weiss used to the amounts of physical contact Ruby and Yang display. Suddenly Ruby jumped away from Weiss, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she saluted. "Don't worry Weiss! You're my friend, and since you asked me to this as a friend, I shall endure… for friendship!"

Weiss giggled, laying her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Being friends is fine enough for me Ruby, shall we go back?"

Ruby nodded, and the duo made their way back to the entrance of the ballroom. Ruby took a deep breath, then nodded once more to Weiss.

The rest of the party went calmly, aside from a few incidents of businessmen attempting to influence Ruby and careful avoidance of Weiss' father. As soon as it ended, the two shot out of the estate, heading back to Beacon University as fast as possible.

A weird calmness enveloped Weiss. It was certainly possible Ruby had pulled the same stunt, for whatever reason her shyness overtaking her and she had run off like before. Weiss wasn't going to blame Ruby one bit, knowing that she had no idea what could possibly be going on in Ruby's mind to cause such a reaction.

That left two questions. Is Ruby alright and what could have caused that reaction? Weiss stood up from her seat, noting a full hour had passed. She decided it was best to head home for now, and if Ruby had yet to show up by tomorrow, then she would call on a search. As Weiss was leaving she put in her earbuds, listening to a song Ruby had wrote. She paused for a moment, thinking she heard someone shouting, z but dismissed it as the song tricking her.

The ride home felt lonely, immeasurably so. Opening the door to her apartment alone had not been the night Weiss had foreseen, especially not when she lay down on her bed, silence echoing throughout the apartment. Her eyes started drooping, the mental exhaustion starting to catch up to her. Right before she fell asleep, she sent out one last text to Ruby, not caring how vulnerable she sounded.

-Please be safe Ruby, I don't know what I'd do without you lighting up my life.-


	3. No Luck

Weiss started, not expecting the ringing of her alarm clock. She felt around for it, the grogginess ever apparent as she lay there confused after turning it off. It felt almost as though she was still dreaming.

Slowly, she sat up, stretching out her arms. _Ruby!_ The events of last night returned quickly, and she scanned around for her phone. Nothing. Weiss got up from her bed, frantically searching. Covers were tossed, drawers thrown open, doors swung against walls. What felt like hours seemed to pass, when in reality it had only been a few minutes. Her eyes settled on unturned pillows. Weiss threw the pillow out into the hallway, spotting the hiding phone.

Despair rocked its way through her. No message came from Ruby, nor any sign of her from anyone else. Weiss' life seemed to have been sapped out of her as she stalked her way through the kitchen, mind in another world while she prepared her breakfast.

Weiss sat down on the couch, laying her breakfast on the coffee table. She picked up the remote beside her, turning on the T.V. in hopes of drowning out the dreaded feeling inside her. The words coming out from the news reporter went right through her, ears seemingly unable to hear them.

She slowly took a bite of her pancake, then immediately spit it back out. Strawberries. Weiss never had strawberries on hers, but she always put them on Ruby's. Her eyes having finally found focus back on reality, settled back on the T.V.

The fork dropped. The plate sat still, pancake devoid of any attention. Hands gripped the couch so unbearably hard, one might've thought they would break. Eyes stared so intensely, almost as if they were popping out.

"... she died minutes after, the damage to her throat preventing her from being able to breath. The unfortunate circumstances of that evening left the poor girl with no one nearby to notice the distress she was in, and was not found until an hour later, by these two men. Ruby Rose, dead at seventeen..."

Weiss didn't hear the rest of the report. She didn't need to.

Hours of brutal torture passed by. Yang's tearful anger exploded upon finding out, directing it all towards Weiss, who could only cry her soul out. Blake stood close at hand, head pressed against the wall softly as tears streamed down her face, eyes closed. They were in the hospital, waiting to be allowed to see Ruby.

When the doctor came out, Yang almost bulldozed him. Blake darted in first, asking the question all secretly wanted to ask. "How?" The word came out so roughly, so gravelly that no one was sure if it was really Blake who had said it.

Ruby had been on the street opposite of the ice cream parlor. As she began to walk, a rock stuck in between the cracks of the sidewalk tripped her, causing her neck to land on the curb. She struggled to breath, a claustrophobic feeling overtaking her.

Ruby heard the sounds of a door opening and looked across the street. Weiss was looking at her! No, she was looking right above her. Ruby attempted to shout, to make some sort of noise, anything that would make Weiss look down. But it was all for naught as Weiss turned her head back onto the empty seat across from her. Ruby felt her pocket vibrate, and quickly pulled out her phone, her last chance of survival. At least, it had seemed like it was, but the vibration had been caused by the phone notifying that it had run out of power.

She tried getting up, struggling with the blackening spots in her vision, the lightheadedness making her stumble. The more she tried, the more oxygen she lost, until eventually she slammed back down into the ground. Ruby could only lay there, watching Weiss through the window, somehow the black spots never blocking vision of her.

A stray thought entered Ruby's mind. She wondered if her whole life would flash before her eyes. Nothing happened. Her entire vision was black, aside from Weiss in the very center. It seemed almost as though she was glowing, the way her white hair reflected the light. Ruby thought she was looking at an angel. Then unconsciousness came.

Ruby sat there, a small circle of moonlight surrounding her. All around her was utter darkness… no, now that she thought about, it felt more like a void than darkness. She stood up slowly, looking over the edge of the circle, seeing more void below.

A bright white light shone below, at first enormous, but dwindling as the source seemed to travel away from Ruby. Within the light was a smaller yellow light and a black shadow, both moving away as well. Fear gripped Ruby.

She wasn't sure why, but the thought of the white light disappearing chilled her.

"Come back." The whisper was so soft, so quiet, Ruby almost didn't realize she had said it. With a fervent furiosity she began chanting it over and over, getting louder each time. "Come back, come back, come back, _come back!_ "

Alas, the lights kept moving away, until the yellow light and black shadow were no longer distinguishable, only the white light remaining. Ruby fell down on her knees, tears pouring out as she cried for the light to come back. She smashed her hands into the edge of the moonlight circle, hoping with all her might that the noise created would attract its attention.

Ruby stopped. She wiped her eyes messily, gazing out back into the void. The white light was almost gone, looking like a star in the middle of a night sky. Ruby reached her left hand out, trying to pluck it out of the void. She reached further and further, bending over as far as she could. The white light disappeared, and with Ruby's last desperate cry, her knee slipped and she fell into the void.

Ruby opened her eyes, looking around at the void surrounding her. She moved her arms and legs, feeling _absolutely_ nothing, not even the resistance of air. She closed her eyes, but still saw the void instead of the familiar darkness. She tried licking her lips, but felt no sensation of coolness. She tried breathing in, and finally felt something.

Within her she could feel the void spreading, the nothingness enveloping her. She didn't need to see to know her feet had already gone. Ruby simply floated there.

The knees went next.

A trickle of white hair appeared in her mind.

Her waist.

Ice blue eyes longingly looking back into hers.

Her stomach.

Cool, pale lips smiled towards her.

Her chest.

A soft hand, one that never knew of roughness, grasped hers.

Her neck.

Seemingly cold words floated out towards Ruby.

Ruby's eyes closed, letting the void take her. "I love you Weiss Schnee."

Her existence.


	4. Fate

With no way to breath, Ruby died about eight minutes later. The two old men from the parlor had gone out, and by extreme luck of a newspaper being blown out of their hands, found Ruby laying still on the ground fifty-five minutes after her death. They at first thought she was another drunk college student, but a few pokes later and they realized something was wrong.

One began checking her over, quickly shouting at his friend to call 911. An ambulance arrived soon after, paramedics scurrying about. Motion paused as the analysis came through on their patient. It resumed a second later, giving a desperate attempt at bringing the girl back, the two old men only watching futilely. Ruby Rose was wheeled out into the ambulance, gone within seconds of the paramedics' arrival. The medical team knew there was no way of bringing someone who had been at loss of oxygen for so long back to life, but miracles had happened before. That day was not a day for miracles.

The police had wanted to question Weiss, knowing from Ruby's phone that she had plans to see her, but Yang had stood in their way, along with Blake's lawful knowledge, keeping them at bay until Weiss felt emotionally stable.

Weiss had never felt so much pain in her heart upon learning she had actually seen Ruby. Yang tried her best to persuade Weiss it wasn't her fault, but the heiress wouldn't have it. Had Weiss trusted her instinct and not gone against her gut feeling, Ruby could've been alive.

Weiss sat down on the couch in their… _her_ apartment. Yang and Blake were in the kitchen, cooking up dinner for the three. Weiss and Blake could tell Yang was taking it the hardest, the bond between the two sisters stronger than anything Weiss or Blake had seen. Had it not been for Yang confiding to Blake about Ruby's time of self-imprisonment in her room, Blake would have never been able to convince Yang to not do the same.

They remembered a time when Ruby once leaned extremely close to each of their faces, smiling gently when she proclaimed they all had light in their eyes. Weiss had always been confused over that, spending a reluctant amount of time in trying to find this 'light'.

When Weiss had opened the door for Yang and Blake, the former let out a hollow giggle, saying "You look like crap."

Weiss could tell it was meant for all of them.

Finishing the last of her normally morning routine, Weiss spit out the toothpaste, holding herself up by the rim of the sink. She sighed, bringing her head up to see her own state. Her hair was twisted and turned, contrary to the usual straightness and elegance she used to keep it in. Bags sat heavily underneath her eyes and lips looked cracked and dry. The most startling difference though, was the eyes. Weiss never knew what it looked like to have the light in her eyes, but at that moment she could tell what it looked like to have it gone.

A slight breeze blew through the apartment, rattling a frame against the coffee table. Weiss looked over, almost gasping at the sight. It was the picture from their first year of university, the one Weiss had claimed was foolish to keep, while Ruby insisted it to be of eternal value. How ironic it was for Weiss to have made such a statement.

Yang and Blake entered the living room, Blake sitting on the other end of the couch and Yang plowing her way into the middle. All three stared at the dinner before them, none quite feeling their appetite.

It had been a month since Ruby's death. The funeral had been small, only consisting of Ruby's closest friends and family. Weiss had been shocked when every single person attending had hugged her, thanking her for the friendship she gave Ruby.

Yang told Weiss of the stories Ruby would tell to everyone, sometimes spending hours just to talk about her, much to Uncle Qrow's annoyance, of how Ruby had become a recluse, her meeting Jaune, and finally of Ruby returning fully to herself after meeting Weiss.

Weiss softly brushed her finger over Ruby's image. Suddenly she gasped, curling up into a ball. Yang and Blake swung their heads towards her, wondering what could've caused such a reaction.

She had her hands over her face, knees drawn up all the way as she looked in between her fingers at the image of Ruby. Weiss couldn't believe she didn't realize it sooner, the feeling of despair came back once more, one hand forced to come down to clutch at her chest in pain.

Her head slowly swiveled from side to side repeatedly, Yang and Blake both quickly coming over to Weiss and putting their arms around her.

The silver eyes. The pale complexion. The red-tipped hair. The love for cookies and strawberries she had. The way she was always energetic and cheerful. The way she was shy in front of people she didn't know. The way she would look into Weiss' eyes. The way their fingers would twitch towards each other. The way their knees would bump when they sat beside each other.

The time they almost kissed...

Weiss screamed, feeling the world close itself all around her.

She was in love with Ruby Rose.


End file.
